Two officials from the Palestinian Islamist movement, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that they had come to an agreement, which includes provisions addressing the group’s weapons and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
“An agreement has been reached regarding the issue of weapons… Furthermore, an agreement has been reached on a gradual withdrawal of (Israeli forces)” from the strip, a Hamas official said, adding that the Islamist movement now expects the mediators and the Board of Peace to ensure that Israel complies with the terms of the deal.
Earlier, Trump had announced an agreement for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas, calling it a critical step toward a new Palestinian government in Gaza.
“Today, the Board of Peace reached a HISTORIC agreement for the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza. This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, saying disarmament would take place in “carefully structured phases.”
“As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the International Stabilisation Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbours,” he added, also thanking mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye.
The thorny issue of Hamas’s disarmament has been one of the key sticking points in the advancement of the ceasefire deal that has been in place between Israel and the group in Gaza since October.
Despite the ceasefire, violence has continued in Gaza, with Israeli strikes killing at least four people including two children on Thursday, according to health officials.
Cairo is set to host a meeting “soon” of the Gaza truce mediators, which also include the United States, Qatar and Türkiye, state-linked Al-Qahera News reported early Friday in Egypt.
The news outlet did not specify when the meeting would take place, but said that it would discuss implementing the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan, a roadmap for which Hamas and Palestinian factions have agreed to.
Under Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza, the second phase of the ceasefire was to involve Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory.
The plan also provides for a group of Palestinian technocrats, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), to assume day-to-day governance during Gaza’s transitional phase out of war.
An Israeli source told AFP that the proposed deal does not “satisfactorily” address Israeli demands.
“Israel demands the complete disarmament of Hamas, including the removal of weapons from Gaza and full demilitarisation of the Strip as a precondition for any process,” the source said.
The source also said that “the issue of Gaza did not come up at all” in the meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Trump in Washington this week. (AFP)
